His second grandson was gifted since childhood and was enrolled in the famous Wansong Academy when he was only 12 years old. Several teachers in the academy said that the second grandson would be able to try out in two years.
Their family was counting on him, their second grandson, to pass the imperial examination and bring honor to the family in the future.
But the emperor's words "three generations are not allowed to take the imperial examination" blocked his grandson's path to the imperial examination, and he himself was already old, how could he wait for his great-grandson to learn something new? ! The patriarch became more and more anxious, and he didn't care about others. He kowtowed to the emperor solemnly, making a "dong" sound.
He told everything he knew in one go: "Your Majesty, Gu Ce is indeed a legitimate son. The old marquis had a legitimate wife, the first wife, Da Qi. Thirty years ago, after Da Qi died of illness, Gu Xuan married the first wife's younger sister, Xiao Qi, who is now the Madam Dowager."
"Little Qi was married to the old marquis when he was guarding Xizhou. Gu Ce was still young at that time, and Little Qi was his aunt, so it was difficult to be a stepmother. The old marquis was afraid that there would be a rift between mother and son, so he kept it a secret."
"Gu Ce is a legitimate child. When he was three years old, the old marquis asked for him to be named the Crown Prince. The imperial edict issued by Emperor Taizu to name him the Crown Prince is now enshrined in the Gu family's ancestral hall."
"Your Majesty is wise. The Gu family did not use a concubine as the legitimate heir."
The clan leader spoke very cautiously, then bent down and kowtowed heavily again, causing a large red and swollen area on his forehead. He looked embarrassed and panic-stricken, and only hoped that the emperor would be lenient with the Gu family.
The old Marquis Gu Xuan married Da Qi thirty-eight years ago. At that time, the clan leader also traveled to Xizhou to attend the wedding and met Da Qi once, but only once.
Five years later, Gu Xuan returned to Beijing with his wife and children from Xizhou. The clan leader found that his wife had changed. Gu Xuan explained that this was his second wife, the sister of Da Qi, and begged the clan leader not to tell anyone. Although the clan leader felt it was inappropriate, Gu Xuan had already brought his wife to see the emperor, so it was a done deal and he had no choice but to agree.
Thinking about these past events, the clan leader was in a state of confusion. He calmed himself down and said in a sonorous and powerful voice, "The Gu family has done this before. When I return, I will reopen the ancestral hall and make the legitimate heirs and illegitimate children legitimate."
His voice became tense, and he humbly pressed his forehead to the ground, remaining prone, not daring to move, anxiously waiting for the emperor's verdict.
Madam Gu's body was shaking even more violently. Her old face turned pale, her chest ached, and she couldn't even breathe.
The clan leader's words just now seemed to be the final word, giving her a fatal blow in full view of everyone.
The eldest sister became Gu Xuan's original wife, while she became a concubine, a concubine without a legitimate title and without even an imperial decree, and who must always treat the original wife as a concubine.
Obviously, her elder sister is her substitute, but now, she will always be suppressed by her elder sister.
She was unwilling, she didn't want to! Madam Gu, who was kneeling on the ground, was angry and helpless. She was so distraught that she almost fell to the ground.
The rustling sound of the jeweled Five-Died Pipa Crown attracted the parrot's attention, and the parrot flapped its wings and chirped twice.
A glimmer of hope rose in Gu Jian's dull eyes, and he stared at the emperor without blinking.
Passing off a concubine as the legitimate heir is a serious crime, and the Marquis's Mansion must never be charged with this crime.
As for whether my mother is a step-wife, it is just a small matter. Whether she is the first wife or the step-wife, it is just an empty title.
Things have their priorities. At the moment, my mother can only bear with the identity of the second wife and get through this difficult time first.
The emperor said nothing, neither good nor bad. He held the chess piece in the chess box with one hand, as if thinking about something.
Chu Yi took two sips of Biluochun tea, slowly put down the teacup in his hand, smiled slightly, and suddenly asked, "Gu Yuan, why are you here in the palace this time?"
As soon as he opened his mouth, it was like a spring breeze blowing, melting the ice and snow.
Gu Yuan was about to answer when Gu Jian couldn't wait to answer, "Your Highness, I think my mother's behavior is inappropriate. Brother Yuan is my nephew, and the emperor will make the final decision on Feng He's matter. I will bring Brother Yuan with me to persuade my mother to go back."
Gu Jian tried hard to smile and pushed all the responsibility for the memorial onto Madam Gu, hoping that the emperor would show leniency and let it go.
"Your Highness, it is for the division of the family." Gu Yuan clasped his hands together and answered Chu Yi calmly.
“…” Gu Jian’s face turned dark, as black as the bottom of a pot, but Madam Gu suddenly came to her senses.
Gu Yuan didn't care about Gu Jian's reaction at all, and continued, "Second uncle wants to separate from me and my sister."
After finishing speaking, Gu Yuan turned to the clan leader who was lying on the ground and whispered, "Grandun, I dare not lie in front of the emperor."
Upon hearing this, the clan leader broke out in a sweat and sighed secretly in his heart: The Marquis' Mansion has already angered the emperor, and any further concealment will only make the emperor even more displeased with the Gu family.
Gu Jian almost jumped up, and retorted with a glare: "Your Majesty, it is clearly Gu Yuan and his siblings who want to separate the family!"
"Not a minister..."
Gu Jian felt that he was even more wronged than Dou E. He was about to explain himself, but was interrupted by the clan leader beside him: "Your Majesty, I can testify that it was the Marquis... it was Gu Jian who wanted to split the family!"
The clan leader said this with great force, and when he looked at Gu Jian again, he could not hide the disgust in his eyes.
It has come to this point, and Gu Jian is still talking nonsense. He is so audacious. Is he trying to drag me into the crime of deceiving the emperor? ! Zhao Rang quickly glanced at the emperor's face, and then asked the clan leader on behalf of the emperor: "Gu An, why did Dingyuan Marquis's Mansion suddenly want to split up?"
It was his first time meeting the emperor, and he was nervous and afraid. His words were incoherent and he made three main points:
Today, Gu Jian sent someone to invite him and the elders of the clan to the Marquis' Mansion to preside over the division of the family property; Gu Jian and his wife planned to separate the eldest branch of the family; in this division, Gu Jian's branch would take 70%, and the eldest branch's Gu Yuan brothers and sisters would only get 15% of the total family property, and the remaining 15% would be divided equally between the fourth and fifth branches.
Inside the water pavilion, only the clan leader's dry voice echoed in the air. Gu Jian, who was standing beside him, wanted to interrupt the clan leader several times, but he remembered that this was not the Marquis' residence, but the imperial court, and he could not tolerate his insolence.
Madam Gu didn't know about the division of the family until this moment. Her whole body was shocked. She turned to stare at Gu Jian in disbelief, breathing slightly.
How could her son separate from the eldest son's family at this juncture? Wouldn't that be a disgrace and just arouse suspicion? Why didn't he consult her before making his own decision? She had only been away for more than an hour, but she felt like everything had turned upside down.
The clan leader kowtowed for the third time and apologized solemnly, "Your Majesty, the division of the family was too hasty. It's all my fault for not checking."
“……” Madam Gu was already in a daze.
I wanted to argue, wanted to scold my son, but I didn't know where to start.
Even if she said that all this was Gu Jian's own decision, they are mother and son, so no one would believe her and it would be meaningless.
“Bang!”
The emperor raised his hand and slammed the table again, sneering, "Oh, now I know the purpose of this memorial."
As he spoke, the emperor threw the memorial towards Gu Jian and Madam Gu. The memorial hit Gu Jian's calf right on the ground, frightening him so much that his legs went limp and he fell to his knees with a plop.
Several imperial censors glanced at Gu Jian with disdain. The young imperial censor stood up with his head held high and bowed to the emperor with righteousness, saying, "Your Majesty, Dingyuan Marquis Gu Jian refused to tolerate his nephew in order to seize the family property. He even spoke nonsense in front of the emperor and wanted to put his nephew to death. This is truly disloyal, unkind and unjust."
"Such evil deeds should be severely punished. I ask the emperor to deprive him of his title and punish him as a warning to others."
The young censor spoke passionately and with solid arguments. The other clean censors all thought he was right and nodded frequently.
Seizing the title?! Gu Jian felt as if his heart had been stabbed again, and a strong salty taste rose in his throat.
At this moment, he really wanted to kill the censor.
Why should he be stripped of his title?! Gu Jian was indignant: it was Gu Yuan who proposed the division of the family, so why did the censor confuse right and wrong and put all the blame on him, and even asked the emperor to strip him of his title?!
The blood drained from Gu Jian's face, turning it as pale as snow.
He wanted to say something but didn't know what to say. His mouth opened and closed, his throat felt like it was burning, and he looked at Prime Minister Xiao with pleading eyes.
Prime Minister Xiao on the side frowned. The wound on his neck had healed. His gray hair was a little messy and his eyes were uncertain.
The Yu family and the Feng family had problems one after another, and today the aristocratic family was even more defeated. After this incident, the power of the aristocratic families in the court will probably be greatly reduced...
The person that Prime Minister Xiao felt most sorry for was Feng He.
He finally managed to get Feng He into the position of Jingzhao Yin.
Jingzhao Yin is the official in charge of the capital, but he is only a fourth-rank official, with low rank and power. If there is a murder case in a noble family, it is not up to Jingzhao Yin to deal with it. However, all matters in the capital cannot escape the eyes of Jingzhao Yin, who can cut off the emperor's eyes and ears, and even...
Prime Minister Xiao's eyes were dark. The more he thought about it, the more headache he got. He rubbed his eyebrows.
This time their family suffered too heavy a loss.
Prime Minister Xiao remained silent. The other officials from the aristocratic families, led by him, also assessed the situation and watched silently with their hands hanging down.
The several imperial envoys nearby all pointed their fingers at Gu Jian and said, "Censor Han is right. This trend must not be allowed to continue!"
"Otherwise, wouldn't the others have to follow suit and drive the orphans and widows out of the house in the name of dividing the family property after their brothers die?"
"Yes, our Great Jing Dynasty governs the world with loyalty and filial piety. Such despicable behavior must be stopped."
“…”
These imperial censors were best at talking, and most of them were passionate and upright, with strong fighting power. They reprimanded Gu Jian one after another, and asked the emperor to severely punish Gu Jian.
(End of this chapter)
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